Mitt Romney face tattoo man does an about-face

Critics of Mitt Romney accused him of being a flip-flopper. Now one of his die-hard supporters is guilty of the same charge.

Eric Hartsburg, the 30-year-old resident of Michigan City, Ind., inked the Romney/Ryan campaign’s distinctive “R” logo on his face this fall to support the Republican ticket. Hartsburg put the space on his face up for sale on eBay and was paid $5,000 to get the 5-by-2-inch tattoo. After the Romney-Paul Ryan ticket lost on Nov. 6, Hartsburg had no regrets, telling POLITICO he was “glad to know that I did all that I could” and insisting he would never have the tat removed.

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Hartsburg tells POLITICO he plans to get the tattoo lasered off, a process that could take a year.

Tattoo removal chain Dr. TATTOFF offered to remove it for free, an offer Hartsburg originally rejected, telling POLITICO earlier this month, “I still love the ink and I am a man of my word and will keep the tattoo for life.”

But then he heard some of Romney’s post-election comments, most notably his claim that the president won reelection because of “gifts” given to various constituencies.

“It stands not only for a losing campaign but for a sore loser,” Hartsburg said. “He’s pretty shameful as far as I’m concerned, man. There’s no dignity in blaming somebody else for buying votes and paying off people. I can’t get behind that or stay behind that.”

As a result, Hartsburg changed his mind and decided to accept Dr. TATTOFF’s offer. Next week, Hartsburg will fly to Los Angeles for the first tattoo removal session, which will be led by Will Kirby, who is known for his appearances on reality shows such as “Big Brother” and “Dr. 90210.” Dr. TATTOFF will pay for the removal, which normally runs about $1,000.

“You can’t walk around with a big ‘R’ on your face!” said Kirby of the tattoo, which presents challenges and opportunities. Fortunately, it’s on the face, and tattoos above the heart tend to be easier to remove because of increased bloodflow, as opposed to ankles or feet. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of blue ink, one of the more difficult colors to erase.

Sounds like this guy was looking for an excuse to remove that "momentary lapse of judgment" from his face. And if he can't get all the blue ink out - at least it will match his revised political affiliation.

Brainwashed morons voted for Mitt Romney. You people also think President Obama was born in Kenya. It took this guy until one comment after the election to decide that Romney was a blood sucking greedy liar.

I am a fiscal conservative who is appalled by what republicans have become. They attract the fringes of society because those people are easily duped.

They're removing it for free? What? Let the guy live with his mistake and pay for it by himself. I'm tired of these idiotic schemes to get money for nothing, and then companies stepping up and getting free publicity to help the idiot out of his or her mess.

66 gardeners So you are appalled by what republicans have become. If you are a decent human being, you should be appalled at what ALL Americans have become. This is a season of peace on earth, good will toward men. Do you really think that represents most people's sentiments? So the hypocrits will play caroles and buy presents and go through the motions of celebrating and even during the holidays continue their hate and derision for their fellow humans. This country does not believe in free speech. Partisans only believe in the speech that supports their own way of thinking. Do not speak otherwise or you will be bombarded with accusations of hate, bigotry, racism and any other derision these so-called supporters of fee speech can conjure up. This is a counry of intollerence just as much as any other country in the world. And you, 66 gardeners, blame that on the republicans. If you believe that, then you are the one who is easily duped. Just look at the results of the Politico polls and you will see that the site attracks mostly liberals. Then read through the comments and see which party posts the most intollerant and hateful and derisive remarks. Then tell yourself that republicans are appalling.. You will only be fooling yourself.